Friday, November 14, 2008

The bottom shelf of my children's history collection (non-fiction - historical fiction is somewhere else entirely) ... an eclectic mix here. There are various books picked up in library sales, ranging from a book on Medieval People to (blush) a history of toilets; a few historical picture books; Diane Stanley biographies (Cleopatra, Peter the Great, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci); picture histories of Scotland and Ireland and other miscellaneous oddments. Then there are some adult level books: assorted chronicle-style books, ranging from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to Russia, and several historical atlases.

Three favourites from this shelf ...

How Children Lived by Chris and Melanie Rice ... similar in style to DK's Children Just Like Me. Each double page spread focuses on an imaginary child from a different era, beginning with the ancient Egyptians and ending with 1920s America.

The Boy Pharaoh: Tutankhamen by Noel Streatfeild ... although she is better known for her fiction (Ballet Shoes, White Boots and so on), Noel Streatfeild also wrote several history books for children. This one was written to accompany the Tutankhamen exhibition when it was shown in London in the early 1970s.

The Book of Greek Myths Pop-Up Board Games by Brian Lee ... does exactly what it says on the cover. Four pop-up board games, each themed on a different Greek myth, with everything you need to play them in a little pocket. Very unusual, and we have had a lot of fun with this one over the years.